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Start free with EleplanCoccidioidomycosis
ORPHA:228123Disease
Also called Desert rheumatism · San Joaquin valley fever · Valley fever · California disease · Coccidioides infection · Desert fever
What it is
Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection caused by Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii, which is endemic to the Southwestern United States, Central America, South America and Mexico, and is acquired by inhalation of the infective arthroconidia, often found in soil. In most cases it is a benign, self-limiting febrile illness, but in a minority of cases it can become a potentially lethal infection of the lungs and, extremely rarely, spread to other organs (through hematogenous dissemination) with manifestations including meningitis, osteomyelitis, and skin and soft-tissue involvement.
Key facts
- Age of onset
- All ages
- Inheritance
- Not applicable
- Classified as
- Disease
Signs and symptoms
Common30–79%
5Sometimes5–29%
34- Abnormality of the nervous system
- Abscess
- Arthritis
- Atypical scarring of skin
- Chest pain
- Cough
- CSF lymphocytic pleiocytosis
- CSF pleocytosis
and 26 more in this range
Rare1–4%
37- Abnormality of blood and blood-forming tissues
- Abnormality of long bone morphology
- Abnormality of the bladder
- Abnormality of the endocrine system
- Abnormality of the female genitalia
- Abnormality of the genitourinary system
- Abnormality of the kidney
- Abnormality of the liver
and 29 more in this range
These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.
ICD-10 codes
Related health topics
Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
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